"The story from going unsold till here - take a bow, my friend" - Aakash Chopra lauds Sandeep Sharma's spell in Rajasthan Royals' IPL 2024 win vs MI

Aakash Chopra has lauded Rajasthan Royals (RR) seamer Sandeep Sharma for bowling a match-winning spell in his side's IPL 2024 clash against the Mumbai Indians (MI) in Jaipur on Monday, April 22.

Sandeep returned figures of 5/18 in four overs as RR restricted MI to 179/9 after Hardik Pandya opted to bat first. Sanju Samson and company then chased the target down with nine wickets and eight deliveries to spare to consolidate their position at the top of the points table.

Reviewing the game in a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra praised Sandeep for proving his worth after going unsold at the IPL 2023 auction.

"Sandeep picked up five wickets. He was unavailable for a few matches, he wasn't fit, but as soon as he became fit, he became superhit. Taking five wickets is not an easy job but if you see his figures, you will say that he almost bowled four maiden overs. He bowled in the powerplay and then at the death as well," he said (2:25).

"He dismissed two players at the start and three players later. He was absolutely stellar, spectacular, outstanding and sensational. That's Sandeep Sharma. He is an extremely underrated bowler. He went unsold. The story from going unsold till here - take a bow, my friend, I love you a lot," the former India opener added.

None of the franchises showed interest in Sandeep at the IPL 2023 auction. The Rajasthan Royals acquired the right-arm seamer as a replacement for Prasidh Krishna last season, and he has repaid their faith by bowling a few match-defining spells.

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"We were waiting for the time when the kid would come in form, and he did" - Aakash Chopra lauds Rajasthan Royals' Yashasvi Jaiswal

Yashasvi Jaiswal smashed an unbeaten 104 off 60 deliveries. [P/C: iplt20.com]

Reflecting on the Rajasthan Royals' chase, Aakash Chopra praised Yashasvi Jaiswal for finally delivering the goods.

"When it was Rajasthan's turn to bat, Jos Buttler hit a little at the start and Yashasvi hit a lot. He scored a century. We were waiting for the time when the kid would come in form, and he did. I like him a lot for the way he plays. I was angry thus far because he was trying to hit the ball too hard. It seemed like he wanted to break the ball into two pieces," he said (4:30).

The cricketer-turned-commentator appreciated the Rajasthan Royals opener for his strokeplay against both pace and spin.

"However, he gave himself time on this occasion. When he starts driving well, you know the wagon is back on track. The drives he hit against (Jasprit) Bumrah and (Nuwan) Thushara were absolutely sensational. He also played a few lofted shots down the ground against spin. A spinner hasn't dismissed him even once from the last year till now," Chopra elaborated.

Jaiswal struck nine fours and seven sixes in his unbeaten century. The youngster added 74 for the opening wicket with Jos Buttler (35 off 25). He then stitched an unbroken 109-run second-wicket partnership with Sanju Samson (38* off 28) to seal the game for the Royals.